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Learning beyond boundaries

Academic Learning is an indicator that combines academic identification (which refers to getting along with teachers, having an interest in the subject matter, and related behaviours and attitudes) and academic participation) which captures the student's work effort both inside and outside of school, including hours spent outside the school. In education it is important to observe the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught, which extends to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education.

School trips, vacations, picnics etc provide students a wide spectrum of learning experience when they step out of their School boundaries. Travelling helps the students to know vivid cultures, explore the unknown and to see the unseen. Travelling also widens their view, it makes them modest. Travelling enhances their knowledge and its wide source for generating new ideas. It makes the students smart and self-reliant. By travelling one can gather wisdom and experience which can be shared time and again and it also enlighten others. We get to know what the gifts of Mother Nature are. We get to see the demographic division of our beautiful world like soils, forests, flora and fauna, architecture, sculptures, monuments, scenery, climate, environment, history, music, art, technology, languages and much more while travelling.

NATURE AS A TEACHER

When the students step out in the natural surroundings the bliss of the natural surrounding is enormous. It readily reminds one of the famous quote of William Wordsworth:

Come Forth into Light of the Things, Let Nature be Your Teacher…

When the students learn in the premises of natural environments they are inspired to build learning ambience which is build up on the framework of experience and innovation. Naturalized outdoor learning environments stimulate the diversity of children’s play experience and contribute to their healthy development. Best practice design incorporates trees, shrubs, vines, flowers, grasses, edible fruits and vegetables—to connect children with nature and diversify their outdoor experience. Today’s children and families often have limited opportunities to connect with the natural environment. In this modern era the family life has changed dramatically in the last two decades. Children spend more time viewing television and playing video games on computers than they do being physically active outside. The benefits of connecting to nature is that children’s social, psychological, academic and physical health is positively impacted when they have daily contact with nature. These connection with the nature will definitely show positive impacts on the students. It helps the students to grow their dimensions intellectually, emotionally, socially, spiritually and physically. It also supports creativity, problem solving and enhances cognitive abilities.

LEARNING THROUGH SCHOOL TRIPS

Leaving the classroom for a field trip places the students in a different social environment. They encounter a new set of adults and possibly other children during the course of the average field trip. These interactions teach them how to behave in different settings. They employ more self-control because it is a less contained environment than the classroom. It fosters a sense of teamwork and community among the students as they experience a field trip together. When the students travel from one place to another they meet different people of different culture and of different perspective towards life. During these trips they interact with diverse set of people which helps them so much to learn social values of life. It is found that students who travel a lot have a better sense of places on maps compared to those who just observe the flat surface of maps hanging in their classrooms. They learn the demographic division of the country more easily than the classroom learners.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

When the students learn out of their experience they tend to retain what they have learned for a longer time span. Students follow a set pattern of learning style in the classrooms which gets monotonous and ineffective as time goes on. Adventure camps provide the essential break that every student desires. Sometimes teaching the same academic concepts in different ways and in a different environment helps the kids understand them better. The kind of encouragement and nurturing, students receive at these camps teaches them to try new (and thereby maybe a little frightening) things, keep trying and not lose hope, take calculated risks, endure setbacks etc. Kids get a chance to explore areas and fields that might not be available in their schools. This not only helps them get enriched with new things but also help them gain self-confidence. Adventure camps give students a chance to polish their existing skills or add new skills in their learning capacity. Suchbreaks in between regular schooling, help students rejuvenate and bring in higher level of energy back to their regular schooling.

It's our responsibility to look after the learning needs of our students and make it a point that learning cannot be bound within the four walls of a classroom. Let the students explore, expand and experiment with their own learning style.